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"If Kosovo is threatened, Albania is also threatened", Rama to Turkish media: We have no plan B for EU membership

2026-03-12 14:18:09Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"If Kosovo is threatened, Albania is also threatened", Rama to Turkish
Edi Rama

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has given an interview to the Turkish media outlet "Türkiye Today", where he commented on Albania's economic and political relations with Turkey, regional tensions and the European integration process.

Rama said that the value of Turkish football clubs, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, is greater than trade between Albania and Turkey, emphasizing that the economic partnership must be strengthened.

Rama described President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a good friend and straightforward leader, emphasizing the importance of personal relationships between leaders, while rejecting accusations of Turkey's neo-Ottoman ambitions.

Rama stated that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's accusations of a military alliance with Kosovo and Croatia are unfounded and confirmed Albania's unconditional support for Kosovo's independence.

The Prime Minister stressed that Albania aims for EU membership by 2030 and sees the process as an opportunity for institutional reform and improved governance, emphasizing that there is no plan B.

FULL ARTICLE OF TURKIYE TODAY

Albania and Turkey often describe their bilateral relations as deeply strategic, underpinned by historical ties and a strong personal rapport between their leaders. However, according to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, the reality of Turkey's economic presence in the Balkans does not match its political influence.

In an exclusive interview with Türkiye Today, Rama gave a surprising and straightforward assessment of Ankara’s role in the region. He rejected persistent narratives about Turkey’s “neo-Ottoman” ambitions, challenging Ankara to go beyond the personal popularity of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and base its Balkan strategy on significant economic investments.

The Albanian Prime Minister also praised his personal relationship with President Erdogan.

"I have an excellent relationship with President Erdogan, whom I find an easy man to understand," he said. "He is very straightforward; yes is yes, no is no," he added.

The conversation also covered the changing global order, the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and Albania's record efforts towards European Union membership by 2030.

"Not enough" - A direct message to Ankara

While Rama personally praised President Erdogan as a “great friend” and a “straightforward” leader, he stressed that Turkey must do more to strengthen the regional partnership. When asked about the structural pillars of the Turkey-Albania partnership and whether trade is progressing, Rama was clear and blunt.

To illustrate the difference between political relations and economic ties, Rama made a comparison with the largest Turkish football clubs.

“I haven’t done the calculations for the value of Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, but I’m afraid that together they are worth more than the value of trade between Turkey and Albania, and that’s not enough,” he said. “We need to reach at least the level of the Turkish league,” Rama added.

He also underlined that there is currently no major economic project that serves as the foundation of bilateral relations.

"The biggest product, without a doubt the biggest, that Turkey has exported to the region is President Erdogan and his popularity," Rama said. "I don't know if he likes what I'm saying now, but I say it's not enough. It has to be something that goes beyond him."

"I would like Turkey to do more," Rama said, reflecting on Ankara's presence in the region.

"There are a lot of prejudices, stereotypes and nonsense about Turkey's involvement in the region, but for me, that's not enough. It's far from enough."

Turkey's economic growth in the Balkans

Turkey has significantly expanded its economic presence in the Balkans in recent years through trade, investment and infrastructure projects. According to data collected by the Turkish Exporters Assembly, Turkish exports to the Balkan countries reached about $25.3 billion in 2025, marking an annual growth of 8.1%. Of this, Turkey exported about $819.8 million worth of goods to Albania.

Ankara has gradually expanded its economic presence in Albania through trade, infrastructure projects and private sector investment. Bilateral trade exceeds $1 billion, and the two countries have set a target of reaching $2 billion, while Turkish investments in Albania reach about $3.5 billion, according to a 2024 report.

"What neo-Ottoman?"

Responding to frequent accusations from neighboring countries about Turkey's "neo-Ottoman" ambitions, Rama ironically pointed to a delayed restoration project of a small mosque, damaged by floods, by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency in Albania.

"We have one of the most beautiful mosques built in this region, a small thing, and we have been waiting for three years now for TIKA to do its job to repair it," he said.

"So if they were really neo-Ottoman, at least that mosque would be bright after the great flood that caused so much damage," he added.

Rama also highlighted the irony in Serbia's accusations, noting that Turkish capital is actually invested more there than in Albania and Kosovo combined.

“What neo-Ottoman?” Rama asked. “I’m sure the president of Serbia, being someone obsessed with numbers and figures, can clearly see that Turkey has invested more in Serbia than in Albania and Kosovo combined.”

Last October, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić accused Turkey of “dreaming of the Ottoman Empire” after delivering Skydagger drones to Pristina. Later, he accused Turkey and the US of arming Albanians in Kosovo, presenting it as a “direct threat to Serbia and its territorial integrity.”

Rama did not mince his words about Vučić's recent accusations that Albania, Croatia and Kosovo were creating a "military alliance" to threaten Serbia. He considered this to be Serbia's fear of accepting reality.

"President Vučić is someone with great knowledge and intuition, very focused on many things, but he has a nightmare of his own: Kosovo. That's it. Period," Rama said.

"When the nightmare takes over his emotions, he also ends up saying things that, frankly, don't make sense," he added.

Speaking about the alleged "alliance", Rama rejected this claim:

“This is another scream in the nightmare… It seems Serbia has a much stronger agreement with Croatia than this.”

His advice to Belgrade was straightforward:

"That's why I always say: loosen the rope, let it go. By letting it go, your nightmare will end... Not letting go of something that has passed becomes a nightmare."

However, despite the disagreements with Belgrade, Rama said that Serbian President Vučić remains a leader “with whom you can talk and build together.”

"I think he is someone you can talk to and build together on common objectives," Rama said of Vučić.

"If Kosovo is under threat, Albania is under threat"

Turning to regional tensions, Rama reaffirmed Albania's strong support for Kosovo and said its independence cannot be reversed.

“Kosovo is independent; it is a republic,” he said. “This process is irreversible,” he added. Rama also warned that any existential threat to Kosovo would directly affect Albania. “If Kosovo is affected, Albania is affected,” he said.

"If Kosovo is under an existential threat, Albania is under an existential threat," he added.

However, speaking about the stalled EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, Rama admitted that his perspective from Tirana naturally differs from that of Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the leadership in Pristina.

“I am in Tirana, not Pristina. I witnessed the bloody war that tore apart the former Yugoslavia, and that brought to Kosovo the fury of the national-socialist machine of death and destruction,” Rama reflected.

"The memories of that time, the wounds and the nightmares are still very present there and not so present here. This is the difference that I always have to consider when I see things differently from here," the Albanian prime minister added.

There is no plan B for EU membership

In 2025, Albania broke away from its neighbors to open all remaining negotiation chapters with the EU in record time. The government has set a target of full EU membership by 2030.

When asked if Albania has a "Plan B" if the EU delays, Rama was blunt:

"There is no Plan B. We want to join, that's all."

The Albanian Prime Minister presented the accession process not as a diplomatic favor from Brussels, but as an important mechanism for knowledge transfer and state building.

"It is painful; sometimes even humiliating and disgusting, the way they are unable to fulfill their duties," he admitted of the EU's sluggish political machinery.

“But in the end, it is what it is. It’s not them asking us, ‘Can we join you?’ It’s us asking them, ‘Can we join you?’”

According to Rama, the membership process serves as a mechanism for reforming institutions and improving governance, regardless of whether membership is achieved or not.

At the end of the interview, Rama invited Türkiye Today readers to visit Albania. “I wish you all good health,” he said.

"I hope they visit Albania, because I'm sure they will come back again," he added.


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